Kidsby MGMT

"Kids" was the third single, released in October 2008, from the album Oracular Spectacular by the U.S. band MGMT (originally known as "The Management"). Online rumors had surfaced weeks before its release that the Pet Shop Boys had remixed this or some other MGMT track, but the single appeared with no PSB remix in sight. That changed, however, in early December when the Boys posted their "PSB Abstrakt Mix" and "PSB Synthpop Mix" of "Kids" on their official website for our listening pleasure. (Those tracks are, however, no longer available.)

The "PSB Abstrakt Mix," as its title suggests, is a rather "abstract" remix, with a strong "ambient" feel simultaneously dominated by sustained atmospheric keyboard chords and staccato synth filagree. The lead vocal and lyrics have largely been stripped away, with only a few recurring lines from the chorus ("Control yourself, take only what you need for it…" and "A family of trees…") retained, and those are somewhat buried in the mix. By contrast, the even more "electro" but wonderfully bouncy "PSB Synthpop Mix" presents the song in its full vocal and lyrical glory. Its chief virtue is the way it takes a bit of rough, "rockier" edge off the quite nearly as bouncy original, making it even more a dance track than it already was.

Mixes/Versions

Officially released

Pet Shop Boys mixes only:

Mixer: Pet Shop Boys

PSB Abstrakt Mix (5:39)

PSB Synthpop Mix (6:11)

Available for listening at one time as "exclusive tracks" on the official PSB website